Update - Obama To Take 72.5 Percent Ownership Of GM
As an update to the last blog post about government ownership of GM, President Obama is to take a larger slice of what was once the largest employer in the world (except for the US government) and of course the largest car manufacturer in the world. Up from owning 69% of General Motors, the President will now take a 72.5% ownership of GM.
How did this happen? How can the government take majority control of a major US corporation? More importantly however, is why we are going to let it happen. Any way you want to slice it folks, state ownership of industry is socialism. That’s where we are today in the United States Of America.
GM made some huge concessions to the labor unions in the form of unsustainable wages and unsustainable pensions to retirees, but that is no reason for the government to take it over. Somewhere GM should have told the unions a big flat out no.
It was painfully obvious to some, that with automobile sales down and its labor costs the highest in the industry, it would be impossible to be competitive in the marketplace. When GM’s labor costs were averaging out at some $75 per hour for each laborers hourly wages including taxes and benefits and their rival, Toyota, who was leading the car industry, had those same costs down to $43 per hour it should have been apparent to anyone and everyone in the accounting department that this couldn’t continue unabated forever.
Many people though several months ago, as I did, that GM would fail anyway, before Obama lent them nearly $20 billion. It’s pretty obvious now that the market should have been allowed to take its course and let GM go under last year, because that’s what was going to happen anyway.
Now the government will invest another $40 billion in GM and let it go into bankruptcy while taking a nearly 73% ownership of the company. Let’s see if GM has any better luck being run by Washington puppets and ultimately being controlled by the Messiah in Chief, Barack Obama. Something tells me it won’t last that long.
Welcome to socialism 101.
Comments
2 Comments on Update - Obama To Take 72.5 Percent Ownership Of GM
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Asswass on
Sat, 30th May 2009 12:05 pm
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Alan on
Sat, 30th May 2009 12:21 pm
That’s not even close to socialism he’s just trying to save an american icon. In Venezuela (radical socialism close to dictatorship) the president takes the company away from you without asking.
Asswass,
From Wikipedia:
“Socialism refers to any one of various economic theories of economic organization advocating state or cooperative ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods…”
I don’t know man, it fits the definition.
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!